Bicycle Friendly Community Program
Bicycle Friendly Community Roadshow hits Middle America!
May, National Bike Month, is always a busy time of year, what with Bike to Work Day, the Ride of Silence, club rides, education classes etc. This year, it feels like we’re going on tour with a Bicycle Friendly Community roadshow, and we’re hitting the heartland of America. Come and see the show…
Employer Program Launches in Flint, May 6-7. Working with the Michigan Fitness Foundation and the local Safe and Active Flint Coalition, we are unveiling a new series of educational materials designed to help employers promote bicycling among their employees. You can find out more by joining Education Director Preston Tyree and League President, Andy Clarke at either the Spin Outside the Crim on May 7 or in conjunction with the Friends of the Flint River Trail on the evening of May 6. The new materials include “lunch and learn” handouts and teaching aids covering the basics of bicycle commuting and recreational riding.
Dayton Area BFC Workshop, May 8. More than 60 people are already signed up for a regional BFC training in Dayton, Ohio organized in conjunction with the regional planning agency and Alta Planning + Design. Andy Clarke will be inspiring the crowd to follow the BFC path to Bronze and Beyond as part of a larger regional bicycle planning and promotion initiative – representatives of more than 11 local communities, including the City of Dayton, will develop action plans for becoming more bicycle friendly, and will get the benefit of technical assistance from Alta staff.
Des Moines Area Mayors get the BFC Pitch. A Tuesday morning breakfast get-together is the venue for Des Moines, Iowa, area Mayors and political leaders to learn more about the BFC program from League President, Andy Clarke, May 13…
…and from there to Cleveland By Bike!
Yes, it’s back to Ohio for workshops, conferences and events celebrating bicycling – part of a week long series of activities put together by Cleveland Bikes. Specifically, on Thursday, May 15 there’s a BFC workshop to help chart a course for the city and region to be more bicyclist friendly. Thanks to LAB Board member Jim Sheehan and local advocate-extraordinaire Lois Moss for pulling this together.
Kansas City is the final stop on the tour … for now. The spiritual home of the BFC program is, believe it or not, Overland Park, Kansas. So it’s fitting to end the 2008 May tour with the Kansas Regional BFC Meeting and a trip to Shawnee. Shawnee is currently Bronze and wants to be Silver…Kansas City is just getting started. Find out what the plan is, and how other cities have moved up the ranks with meetings in Shawnee Wednesday, May 21 and Kansas City May 22.
National Bike Month
Speaking of National Bike Month
There are indeed thousands of events going on nationwide in celebration of National Bike Month, from local bike rodeos to statewide bike to work events. We can’t list them all (although one year we’d sure like to try), and even picking a handful of representative examples is pretty tough. So remember that
May 12-16 is Bike to Work Week.
May 16 is National Bike to Work Day.
May 21st is the evening for a Ride of Silence.
May 11-17 is also National Transportation Week.
And for future reference, Bike to Work Day is traditionally the third Friday of May. This year and next it seems like it comes early but in 2010 it’s going to be May 21st.
Summit
National Bike Summit 2009 – Dates Set.
Mark your calendars now for March 10-12 here in Washington DC for the 2009 National Bike Summit. We need to keep the momentum rising as the debate on the future of federal transportation funding really starts to heat up. Make sure you are part of the 2009 Summit.
Seeking
The always-excellent San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has three positions opening for non-profit professionals. The SFBC is looking to hire dynamic, committed individuals for the following positions:
* Development Director, a full-time position leading the SFBC's fundraising programs, including events, major donor outreach, grantwriting, and sponsorship development.
* Membership and Development Assistant, a new full-time position supporting the SFBC's growing membership and development programs; and
* Bookkeeper, a new part-time position supporting the SFBC's Operations Director in ongoing bookkeeping needs.
Stanford University is looking for a bicycle program coordinator. With one of the highest levels of bike use in the country, this is a great place to ride! The vacancy listing appears at http://jobs.stanford.edu/: enter 29925 (the job ID number) in the Keyword Search box.
Looking to serve Safe Routes to School?
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is now accepting nominations for several Steering Committee positions representing government agencies, non-governmental organizations and professional associations. Our Steering Committee, a diverse group of up to 21 members, functions as the Partnership's Board of Directors and holds decision-making responsibility for the Partnership. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, May 2, 2008. For more information on the call for nominations and to view and download the call for application and instructions, click here.
Also, the National Partnership is looking for a technical assistance provider in Northern Virginia: The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is looking for a Technical Service Provider (TSP) to implement a comprehensive Safe Routes to School program in one elementary school in Washington D.C. and one elementary or middle school in nearby northern Virginia. Please contact Robert Ping at robert@saferoutespartnership.org (applications by April 28, 2008). Interviews will take place in early May.
Local
The Good News About Service Disruption
Starting about a month ago, delivery of your American Bicyclist e-newsletter got a little erratic. Like we missed one. We’re terribly sorry about that, and offer as some excuse the wonderful news that our Communications Director, Elizabeth Kiker, gave birth to Oliver Erwin Kiker on March 23rd. Oliver weighed in at 8lbs 1oz; both parents and the baby are doing great – which is terrific for them, but we’re missing you, Elizabeth! Thanks to Alison Dewey for helping out with the newsletter in the meantime.
